Kim's Corner: Friends and Fans AlikePage 1 of 8

Kim covers - with lots of merchandise pictures - the presentation by Kevin Kidney and Jody Dailey at this summer's NFFC convention showcasing their latest offerings at DisneyShopping.com

Friends and Fans Alike

I awoke early, got myself
together, with the help of a cup - or two - of coffee, and headed downstairs
towards the Cabo San Lucas ballroom to play with a couple of my pals - Kevin and
Jody. And to cheerfully hand over my wallet and give them a clean pair of socks.
You see, their work always knocks my socks off and what they produce cuts into
my mad money in a BIG way. I found them hard at work - painting. It seems that a
couple of the display podiums had been scuffed during transport from Glendale
and these two are so aware of the value of "good showâ€? that they spent a few
minutes crawling around with paint rollers touching them up.

So, the morning's first
conversation went something like - "HEY! cool, there you guys are...â€? "Yeah, hey,
hi, it's good to see you. Do you think that these will dry before the people
come in...? "Yeah, they should...â€? "Good, how's everything...? "Fine, and you...?â€? "You
sure these will be dry... how much time do we have?â€? "Yeah, but we can put a wet
paint sign on them...â€? "Naw, I think that they'll dry...â€? "You sure...? "Yeah, they'll
dry...? "Well, if you're sure...â€? They were, and as treasure after treasure was
unpacked, set and arranged, I got the impression that these two cared far more
about the items they were sharing than the way that they were shared.

It's always fun playing with
these two guys, Kevin Kidney, Creative Manager/Principal Artist Walt Disney
Collectibles and Jody Dailey, Associate Manager of Design for Disney Direct
Marketing - with more than 30-years working for the Disney Company between them
- they've seen it all. Fads come and fads go - managers come and managers go -
divisions come and divisions go - they've survived and prospered as their part
in the history of the global Disneyana marketplace passed before them. I've been
watching their careers grow for more than a decade now as the truly wonderful
pieces they've conceived, designed and crafted entered the merchandise fray. And
I've seen them take huge risks for their loyal collectors - with huge pay-offs
for our collections.

These two truly "get itâ€?. As
collectors and Disney enthusiasts themselves, they want the same stuff in their
collections that we want in ours - and they work to put them out there for us,
trusting us to buy. Take a look at Kevin's practically perfect pieces in the
Mary Poppins array, the Carpet Bag, Articulated Umbrella and Hat and Scarf
designs - all things we've both loved and wanted to own and he worked to put
them out there for us. The same respect for the marketplace and the subject can
be seen in each of the designs for Jody's Arts & Crafts array - simple, elegant,
stylish - all limited editions and all completely collectable.

It's also fun playing with those
who stop by for some conversation and design conspiracy. Dave Smith loves the
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit stuff and Tony Baxter the Song of the South
array. As the day went on, collectors, Imagineers, DDG and WDW product artists -
friends and fans alike - stopped by to chat. Get a few Disneylanders in a group
and the ideas were flying fast and furious. It's the kind of blue sky Disney
idea mongering that fans love to participate in - "So... what would you like to
see?â€? "The Sky Way?â€? "Really?â€? "Yeah, we're sorta working on something like that
ourselves.â€? "Nope, we tried it, couldn't get them to buy off on it.â€? "Really?
You'd buy it?â€? "That big? Wow. We were thinking in miniature... what do you
think?â€? "Cool!â€?

And then there was Mr.
Skellington, Mr. Jack Skellington. For all those collectors looking for the
cornerstone of your Nightmare collection, I can safely say, without fear
of contradiction - This is it! This is the
one-single-solitary-quintessentially-essentially-cool piece that each and every
Nightmare Before Christmas fan would love to own. He is amazing! He went
from merch to photo-op in a flash. I've seen some amazing concept merchandise in
my time - but, this guy is simply spectacular. Jody truly went out on a limb to
create him - and for us to own him. He is a signature piece and he is a
groundbreaking piece - he will set the standard for all Nightmare
merchandise to follow.

So lets wander around the
Disneyshopping.com space and take a look at the goodies they brought -